Coming to an Understanding
by Lavenderangel
Summary: Sequel to my first L.M. fic, Why Can't she Like Me? This one's from Lizzie's POV, and takes place right after the first one. A Matt-Lizzie brother-sister fic.


Coming to An Understanding  
  
[A/N  
This is the sequel to my first Lizzie McGuire fic, Why Can't she Like me? This one is from Lizzie's POV, and is less depressing and has hardly if any angst. Like before, I don't own the characters, of L.M. and expect this fic to be a li'l longer then the other.]  
  
"Lizzie, Ethan Craft actually touched me today!" Miranda Sanchez one of my two best friends squealed to me over the phone.  
  
"Oh, not this conversation again," my other best friend, Gordo said in disgust. "Lizzie will agree with me, it gets so boring listening to you guys go on and on about Ethan Craft, and how he's sssssoooooo cute… and how he looked at you today… wow!" The last word was said in a sarcastic tone, and Miranda's reply quickly followed.  
  
"We don't sound like that, do we Lizzie!"  
  
"Yes you do," Gordo encysted. "You sound exactly like that."  
  
I toned out their playful argument, and started thinking about the events that had just happened.  
  
I'd been in the kitchen with Matt. He'd seemed upset, but I hadn't really thought about it until I'd come up here. He'd given me the last potato chip, then said something about a jellybean… I wasn't sure, but I thought I'd actually seen tears in his eyes.  
  
"Lizzie! Earth to Lizzie!" Miranda's voice snapped me out of my thoughts and back to our phone call.  
  
"Is something wrong? You haven't said hardly anything this whole time."  
  
"It's nothing, just something Matt said to me earlier today… Forget it, guys." I paused for a moment. I could've sworn I heard someone pick up the phone… "Matt McGuire, you put that phone down right now!"  
  
"See, I told you there was nothing wrong with her." I heard Gordo say to Miranda in the background of my yelling.  
  
"Look guys, Matt's listening in again. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"  
  
I didn't wait for their replies I simply hung up the phone, and ran out of my room and towards my brothers.  
  
Throwing open the door, I began yelling. "How many times have I told you to stop listening in on my…" I stopped abruptly, for the first time actually looking at Matt.  
  
He was lying on his bed, looking at the family photo album.  
  
"What are you doing?" My tone changed to curiosity as I walked fully into the room.  
  
"Looking at pictures," he said quietly. "Remember a few years ago?"  
  
I nodded, going over and sitting down beside him, and looking at the page he was on. It showed Matt and I from a few years before, waiting in line to see Santa. I was in front of Matt, looking bored, while Matt was jumping up and down excitedly behind me.  
  
"Remember that day?" Matt asked, his voice unusually quiet and serious sounding.  
  
"Yeah," I said with a smile.  
  
Matt had been very excited about seeing Santa, unlike me. I'd just turned 10 that year, and thought Santa was babyish. Still, I'd do anything to make Matt upset, so I'd gotten in front of him in line. However, when there was only one person before me, I had glanced back at Matt. His face was shining with anticipation, and he was staring at Santa excitedly.  
  
"Hey Dorkface, you go ahead of me. I don't want to see Santa that much anyway."  
  
Matt's eyes lit up even more. "Really Lizzie? You'll let me do that?"  
  
"Sure," I'd wished at the time that he wouldn't make such a big deal about this. "It's no big deal."  
  
He'd then let out a little squeal of excitement and bolted past me. Right when the little girl finished, Matt turned back around and had hugged me. I'd pushed him away and onto Santa's lap, embarrassed to have my dorky first grade brother hugging me in public like that.  
  
After Matt had told Santa what he wanted for Christmas, the guy asked in this really pathetic happy voice, "would you like a picture with me?"  
  
I'll never forget what Matt had said after that, mostly because I'd wanted to die from embarrassment. "Okay, but could my sister be in it with me?"  
  
Of course the fake said sure, and the next thing I knew a elf had pushed me onto Santa's other knee, and he was hugging both Matt and me hard.  
  
"Whatever happened to that picture?" I asked Matt.  
  
"It's right over here." He got up and opened his desk drawer and took out a folder. He dropped it on the bed next to the photo album, and I picked it up.  
  
Inside were more pictures. Pictures of me and Matt, to be exact. They all looked to be from a few years ago, and I wondered why he didn't have anymore-recent ones.  
  
"These are kind of old," I said, pulling out the picture I'd been looking for. "Why don't you have anymore recent ones?"  
  
"We never do anything together," Matt explained. "Well except fight, and I play tricks on you." He got up again. "I've got some pictures of those…" A small smile crossed Matt's face, and in spite of myself I smiled too.  
  
"We don't really hang out much, do we?"  
  
In response he just shook his head quietly.  
  
"What's this?" I pulled something else out of the folder. I looked more closer at it. It looked to be a bag of jellybeans. Route beer flavored jellybeans, to be exact.  
  
"Where'd you get those?" I asked Matt, tossing the bag to him.  
  
"I've been collecting them," he replied. "I knew they were your favorite, and I just thought…" He broke off.  
  
"Thought what?" I was confused. Matt was acting really weird. First practically crying in the kitchen, and now looking at pictures of me and him, and giving me jellybeans.  
  
"I thought you might like it." He said sheepishly. "I've been wanting to give it to you for sometime now, but we're always fighting and stuff, so I never really got a chance."  
  
I looked at him hard. "But," I started slowly. "Why'd you start collecting them in the first place?"  
  
"I liked those days. I like spending time with you, Lizzie."  
  
"You do?"  
  
"Yeah, I do. Why don't we do that anymore?" The look of pain and confusion that had crossed his features so much as a younger child appeared now, and I felt a twinge of guilt.  
  
"Because you're a moron and annoying," I said truthfully.  
  
"Well, if I stopped doing those things, and started being more…" He faltered.  
  
"Normal?" I suggested.  
  
"Yeah, normal. Could we start hanging out sometimes again?"  
  
I paused for a moment. "Sure," I finally said.  
  
"Thanks, Lizzie." Matt looked at me shyly for a moment, before crawling across the bed and hugging me.  
  
I slowly returned the hug, before pulling away quickly. "You're welcome, Moron."  
  
I headed for the door, and let out a shriek of annoyance as my hand touched the handle. "Matt! You got peanut butter all over my favorite ring!" I ran back over to him, and stuck my sticky hand in his face. "Ethan Craft touched that ring and said it was cool!"  
  
He grinned up at me. "Sorry." He said casually.  
  
"Grrr!" With that, I began to chase him around the room, trying to smear the sticky muck on some part of his body.  
  
Finally, I gave up, and simply licked the mess off my hand.  
  
I flopped back down on the bed, and a moment later Matt joined me again. "Do you mean spending time together like that?" I asked once I'd regained my breath.  
  
"No, I mean like doing real stuff together. Like watching TV or something." Matt had that shy look about him that I wasn't used too.  
  
"Oh… well, okay." Once again, we hugged and I finally left Matt's room.  
  
Matt might not be the funnest kid to hang out with, but he wasn't the boringest either. I was looking forward to spending more time with him, and I knew that he was too.  
  
[A/N  
Well, a few people didn't like my last fic, so I hoped everyone likes this one! I know it was still out of character, but I haven't seen any Matt-Lizzie brother and sister kinda fics around here. But that's probably because I'm new to the Lizzie McGuire section or something.  
  
I'm thinking of doing a devorce fic where the McGuires… well, get divorced! There might be some Lizzie/Gordo in that one, but then again, there might not.  
  
Well, thanks for reading!  
L_angel] 


End file.
